Lot 114: Hugo Simberg , Finnish 1873 - 1917 Merimaisema Kuun Valossa (Seascape in Moonlight) oil on panel

signed and dated Hugo Simberg / 1900 lower right oil on panel

33.2 by 47.5cm., 13 by 18¾in.

Turun Taideyhdistyksen vuosinäyttely, 1901
Helsinki, Ateneum; Tampereen, Taidemuseo; Vaasa, Pohjanmaan Museo; Turun, Taidemuseo, Hugo Simberg, 2000-2001, no. 230

The present work was painted near the Simberg family's country estate Niemenlautta, thirty kilometres southwest of Vyborg in Karelia.

1900 marked a period of independence for Simberg. He had received considerable critical acclaim for the work that he showed at the Ateneum's autumn exhibition of 1898, and in 1899 was granted membership of the Finnish Artist's Association. The jury at the Paris World's Fair in 1900 awarded him an honourable mention and, to further consolidate his new-found reputation as an artist of promise, he rented his first studio in Helsinki.